United States v. Broca-Martinez

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee,v.CECILIO ANTONIO BROCA-MARTINEZ, Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal
from the United States District Court for the Southern
District of Texas

Before
KING, JOLLY, and PRADO, Circuit Judges.

EDWARD
C. PRADO, Circuit Judge

Defendant-Appellant
Cecilio Broca-Martinez appeals the district court's
denial of his motion to suppress. While on patrol in December
2015, Officer Juan Leal began following Broca-Martinez's
vehicle because it matched a description Homeland Security
agents had provided the Laredo Police Department
("LPD"). Officer Leal stopped Broca-Martinez after
a computer search indicated the vehicle's insurance
status was "unconfirmed." The stop led to the
discovery that Broca-Martinez was in the country illegally
and that he was harboring undocumented immigrants at his
residence. Broca-Martinez entered a conditional guilty plea
to one count of conspiracy to transport undocumented aliens
in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324. On appeal, he contends
that there was no reasonable suspicion justifying the initial
stop. Because we find there was reasonable suspicion, we
AFFIRM.

I.
BACKGROUND

On
December 2, 2015, Broca-Martinez was stopped by Officer Leal
in Laredo, Texas. That day, Homeland Security Investigations
("HSI") received a tip that undocumented immigrants
were being housed at a residence on Zacatecas Avenue in
Laredo. While surveilling the residence, HSI agents saw two
men leave and enter a gray Nissan Altima. HSI subsequently
notified the LPD to have its officers "be on the
lookout" for the vehicle. After receiving a radio
transmission to "be on the lookout" for this
vehicle, Officer Leal saw an Altima that matched the
description. He followed the vehicle and entered its license
plate number into an "in-vehicle computer" database
designed to return vehicle information such as insurance
status. The computer indicated the insurance status was
"unconfirmed." Based on his experience using this
system, Officer Leal concluded that the vehicle was likely
uninsured-a violation of Texas's driver financial
responsibility law. Official Leal then stopped the vehicle.
After being stopped, Broca-Martinez gave his name to Officer
Leal and admitted he was in the United States illegally.
While they waited for HSI agents to arrive, Officer Leal
issued Broca-Martinez a citation for violating the insurance
requirement and driving without a license.

When
HSI agents arrived, they interviewed Broca-Martinez. The
agents obtained verbal consent from Broca-Martinez to search
the Zacatecas Avenue residence, where fourteen undocumented
immigrants were being sheltered. On December 22, 2015,
Broca-Martinez was indicted by a grand jury on three counts
of conspiring to harbor illegal aliens in violation of 8
U.S.C. § 1324. Broca-Martinez filed a motion to suppress
evidence on January 25, 2016. He argued there was no
reasonable suspicion justifying the initial stop and that the
exclusionary rule barred all evidence obtained as a result of
the stop.[1]

Officer
Leal testified to the following at a hearing on the motion to
suppress: At the time of the stop, Leal knew the
radio-transmission instruction involved a Homeland Security
investigation but was unaware of any details. Upon seeing a
vehicle that matched the given description, he ran the
"license plates through what is called the NCIC/TCIC
system, which gives a return on the vehicle, make, model,
[and] year" as well as "a VIN number" and
"a confirmation to see if the vehicle is insured."
Officer Leal has in the past "performed multiple traffic
stops for vehicles not having insurance" and was
familiar with the Texas law requiring drivers to have
liability insurance. Leal did not stop the vehicle because of
Broca-Martinez's undocumented status-a fact he did not
know-but because he believed Broca-Martinez was uninsured. He
explained that when he types a license plate number into the
NCIC/TCIC system, it will either report "insurance
confirmed" or "unconfirmed, " and after
getting a response he knows, "with the knowledge and
experience of working, " whether the vehicle is
uninsured.

During
the stop, Officer Leal did not ask for proof of insurance. He
stated that he "already knew that the vehicle wasn't
insured" based on the "unconfirmed" status
generated by the computer. However, the district court
questioned why Officer Leal did not seek to confirm the
computer's report, asking specifically whether
"reports are sometimes inaccurate." Broca-Martinez
responded: "For the most part, no." Later,
Broca-Martinez's attorney pressed Officer Leal on the
"unconfirmed" status:

Q: Officer Leal, you said that the information you got on the
insurance is that it was unconfirmed?

A: Yes.

Q: So, in other words, he could have or not have insurance,
correct?

A: No.

Q: It's ...

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